Crianlarich (; gd, A' Chrìon Làraich) is a village in

Stirling council area The Stirling council area ( sco, Stirlin; gd, Sruighlea) is one of the 32 council areas of Scotland, and has a population of about ( estimate). It was created under the Local Government etc (Scotland) Act 1994 with the boundaries of the Sti ...

and in the

registration county A registration county was, in Great Britain and Ireland, a statistical unit used for the registration of births, deaths and marriages and for the output of census information. In Scotland registration counties are used for land registration purpose ...

Perthshire Perthshire ( locally: ; gd, Siorrachd Pheairt), officially the County of Perth, is a historic county and registration county in central Scotland. Geographically it extends from Strathmore in the east, to the Pass of Drumochter in the nor ...

Scotland Scotland (, ) is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. Covering the northern third of the island of Great Britain, mainland Scotland has a border with England to the southeast and is otherwise surrounded by the Atlantic Ocean to th ...

, around north-east of the head of

Loch Lomond Loch Lomond (; gd, Loch Laomainn - 'Lake of the Elms'Richens, R. J. (1984) ''Elm'', Cambridge University Press.) is a freshwater Scottish loch which crosses the Highland Boundary Fault, often considered the boundary between the lowlands of C ...

. The village bills itself as "the gateway to the

Highlands Highland is a broad term for areas of higher elevation, such as a mountain range or mountainous plateau. Highland, Highlands, or The Highlands, may also refer to: Places Albania * Dukagjin Highlands Armenia * Armenian Highlands Australia * So ...

Etymology

The name ''Crianlarich'' is derived probably from the

Gaelic Gaelic is an adjective that means "pertaining to the Gaels". As a noun it refers to the group of languages spoken by the Gaels, or to any one of the languages individually. Gaelic languages are spoken in Ireland, Scotland, the Isle of Man, and Ca ...

meaning either "the wasted site" or "the

aspen Aspen is a common name for certain tree species; some, but not all, are classified by botanists in the section ''Populus'', of the ''Populus'' genus. Species These species are called aspens: *'' Populus adenopoda'' – Chinese aspen (Chin ...

site" (c.f. Gaelic ''critheann'', "aspen").

Situation

The village lies in the glen of Strath Fillan at the north western extent of the

Trossachs The Trossachs (; gd, Na Tròiseachan) generally refers to an area of wooded glens, braes, and lochs lying to the east of Ben Lomond in the Stirling council area of Scotland. The name is taken from that of a small woodland glen that lies at t ...

, in the shadow of several

Munro A Munro () is defined as a mountain in Scotland with a height over , and which is on the Scottish Mountaineering Club (SMC) official list of Munros; there is no explicit topographical prominence requirement. The best known Munro is Ben Nevis ...

peaks, notably Ben More, but also

Stob Binnein Stob Binnein is a mountain in the southern Highlands of Scotland, near Crianlarich. It forms a twin-peak with Ben More 3,852 ft (1,174 m), from which it is separated by the Bealach-eadar-dha Beinn, meaning ''pass between two hills''. Sto ...

and Cruach Ardrain. Thus Crianlarich is very popular with hillwalkers. Also the village lies along the long-distance footpath, the

West Highland Way The West Highland Way ( gd, Slighe na Gàidhealtachd an Iar) is a linear long-distance route in Scotland. It is long, running from Milngavie north of Glasgow to Fort William in the Scottish Highlands, with an element of hill walking in the ...

. Its location makes Crianlarich a popular stop for tourists and there are a variety of types of overnight accommodation including guesthouses, B&Bs a SYHA Youth Hostel and a

Best Western Best Western International, Inc. owns the Best Western Hotels & Resorts brand, which it licenses to over 4,700 hotels worldwide. The franchise, with its corporate headquarters in Phoenix, Arizona, includes more than 2,000 hotels in North America. ...

hotel.

Transport connections

Crianlarich has been a major crossroads for north- and westbound journeys in Scotland since

medieval In the history of Europe, the Middle Ages or medieval period lasted approximately from the late 5th to the late 15th centuries, similar to the post-classical period of global history. It began with the fall of the Western Roman Empire a ...

times. In the 1750s, two military roads met in the village; in the 19th century, it became a railway junction on what is now the

West Highland Line The West Highland Line ( gd, Rathad Iarainn nan Eilean - "Iron Road to the Isles") is a railway line linking the ports of Mallaig and Oban in the Scottish Highlands to Glasgow in Central Scotland. The line was voted the top rail journey in the ...

; in the 20th century it became the meeting point of the major A82 and A85 roads. As such, it is designated a primary destination in Scotland, signposted from as far as

Glasgow Glasgow ( ; sco, Glesca or ; gd, Glaschu ) is the most populous city in Scotland and the fourth-most populous city in the United Kingdom, as well as being the 27th largest city by population in Europe. In 2020, it had an estimated pop ...

in the south,

Perth Perth is the list of Australian capital cities, capital and largest city of the Australian states and territories of Australia, state of Western Australia. It is the list of cities in Australia by population, fourth most populous city in Aust ...

in the east,

Oban Oban ( ; ' in Scottish Gaelic meaning ''The Little Bay'') is a resort town within the Argyll and Bute council area of Scotland. Despite its small size, it is the largest town between Helensburgh and Fort William. During the tourist season, t ...

in the west and Fort William in the north. In the 1960s there was even a direction sign for Crianlarich at Swiss Cottage at Camden in London. Since 2016 the A82 by-passes the centre of the village to avoid the low railway bridge in the village. The village is served by

Crianlarich railway station , symbol_location = gb , symbol = rail , image = Crianlarich Station, view north towards Tyndrum, Scotland.jpg , caption = Looking north towards Tyndrum , borough = Crianlarich, Stirlin ...

located on the

. The routes to Fort William/

Mallaig Mallaig (; gd, Malaig derived from Old Norse , meaning sand dune bay) is a port in Lochaber, on the west coast of the Highlands of Scotland. The local railway station, Mallaig, is the terminus of the West Highland railway line (Fort Will ...

and

diverge after this station. Access to the platform is via a flight of stairs from a subway that runs underneath the tracks, from the car park which is slightly lower than the station itself. In 2001, the village had a population of 185.

Lochan Saorach

In nearby Glen Dochart lies Lochan Saorach, mentioned by

Thomas Pennant Thomas Pennant (14 June OS 172616 December 1798) was a Welsh naturalist, traveller, writer and antiquarian. He was born and lived his whole life at his family estate, Downing Hall near Whitford, Flintshire, in Wales. As a naturalist he had ...

in 1769 on account of the

floating island A floating island is a mass of floating aquatic plants, mud, and peat ranging in thickness from several centimeters to a few meters. Floating islands are a common natural phenomenon that are found in many parts of the world. They exist less co ...

it once contained.

Gallery

File:Crianlarich War Memorial.JPG, Crianlarich War Memorial File:Caledonian Sleeper, Crianlarich (geograph 4963273).jpg, The Line to Fort William File:Crianlarich Station. - panoramio.jpg, Crianlarich station File:Road signs in Crianlarich - geograph.org.uk - 936083.jpg, Meeting of the ways File:Crianlarich munros map.jpg, The Crianlarich Munros

References

External links

Crianlarich local community website
*Crianlarich is in the

Church of Scotland The Church of Scotland ( sco, The Kirk o Scotland; gd, Eaglais na h-Alba) is the national church in Scotland. The Church of Scotland was principally shaped by John Knox, in the Scottish Reformation, Reformation of 1560, when it split from t ...

Parish of Strathfillan
Villages in Stirling (council area) {{Stirling-geo-stub